1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable modem for connecting Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) and a method of controlling flow of data between the cable modem and the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE).
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
Broadband modems, such as cable and xDSL modems are well known and in common use. Cable modem operation/is defined by the Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS).
Currently used modems have a functionality of servicing a single interface of a given Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). An example of a cable modem is described in the European patent application No. EP 1 109 355 A2 entitled “Cable modem link layer bridge”. It is a typical modem, servicing only a single interface. Being limited to connecting only a single interface (for instance an Ethernet port), a user may choose to connect a multiplexer such as an Ethernet hub, which will allow for connecting multiple devices. This approach is limiting in that it only allows for connecting devices through the Ethernet link. Similarly, it can be a USB port, which allows the user to connect various USB devices through a USB hub. What can be noticed from this example, however, is that the user is limited to a single type of connection, such as the Ethernet or the USB connection.